Amsterdam gets tough on drunken tourists

31 May 2018

Today the 'Enjoy & Respect' campaign against antisocial tourist behavior has been launched. The campaign focuses on a very explicit group: male (British) visitors between the ages of 18 and 34, who come to Amsterdam for pub crawls and bachelor parties.

If they are still urinating in the street or canal they risk a fine of €140. Disturbing the peace in public places or dropping litter could also cost €140. Public drunkenness will cost €95. There will also be more public toilets and arrows will be drawn on the sidewalks that point to the nearest toilet.

In the Red Light District, in the center of Amsterdam, they are only too familiar with the stereotype of the young drunken man. "This is mainly for English stag partyers. The campaign is a good initiative, as you tackle the problem in part at the roots", says a staff member of a catering establishment. His colleague also recognizes the inconvenience. "You see mainly drunken people here, it's very busy, and even worse at the weekend."

The campaign costs 225,000 euros. This is financed by the municipality, Amsterdam Marketing and the business community. The campaign is visible online to the target group. It includes alerts sent via geofencing – targeted using GPS – to this group’s mobile phones when they enter the tourist area. The campaigners will also put messages on social media and in hotels.

A group of British tourists is not happy with the campaign. "People come here for a holiday. When you are on a holiday you want to drink and have fun, and if you're not allowed to walk drunk on the street, what can you do?"